


Like the Dawn

by YoursAlways



Category: Hellsing, InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Drama, F/M, Family, Hellsing Ultimate OVA, Immortals, Minor Original Character(s), Post-Canon, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2018-05-05 16:23:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5381921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoursAlways/pseuds/YoursAlways
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last heir to the Hellsing name, Kagome travels to England to meet a mother she never knew about. It turns out that vampires are very real, and now she has to learn how to eliminate the things that go bump in the night. [Set post-OVA/Ultimate]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Hellsing and make no money from these writings.

====================

Like the Dawn

Chapter One

Growing old was hard. Integra stretched her stiff back before sitting in the plush desk chair of her private office. While she was still able to best most of the younger members of the Hellsing Organization’s soldiers, but they were still green. She was well aware that she would only get slower and weaker. It was at times like this, when her body reminded her of her age, that her thoughts drifted to the same place. What would become of the Hellsing Organization when she was gone? What would happen to her family name? What would be done with her estate? Who would be the next to claim Alucard?

For thirty years she had worried little about most of those questions. The organization would fall to the government. The Hellsing name would fade into obscurity. Her estate would likely be sold off to the highest bidder. And it hadn’t really mattered about Alucard. He’d disappeared that morning after the attack on London, and he hadn’t been seen or heard from in three decades.

Except now the vampire Alucard was back in her home and under her control once more. Even if the rest of the Hellsing Organization was dismantled and done away with, she couldn’t allow the government to gain control of her most fearsome weapon. Though Alucard had yet to ever turn on his master, it was frightening and intimidating to know that you had the power to release what was likely the world’s most deadly predator for your own purposes. How could she ever trust another person, someone not of the Hellsing line who had learned the proper respect for Alucard’s power, to take those reigns upon her death?

Integra sighed and slid her one good eye over to look at the second drawer down on the right side of her desk. She pulled the heavy hardwood drawer out far enough to reach inside. After shuffling aside a few files and folders, her fingers ran across a glass surface and she gripped the edge of a small frame.

It wasn’t large or fancy. Cheap black wood surrounded a four-by-six photograph of a small family. Everyone in the picture looked happy and was smiling brightly. Running her thumb over one face in particular, Integra set the frame on her desk and shut the desk drawer again.

The man in the picture was someone she’d known quite well in her younger years. They’d met as teenagers. She had already been the head of the Hellsing Organization for a couple of years, and she’d decided to look into alternate methods of fighting vampires and other such creatures. In her research, she came across mention of priests and monks in Japan who were supposed to have the power to completely purify the impure and the tainted. It had taken a lot of leg work, but she finally tracked down one such young man who showed potential for this power.

He was around her age, only a year older, and had been very friendly when she’d shown up unannounced on his family’s shrine grounds. Though he held potential, he’d never had a proper teacher and was untrained. These powers had become so rare that very few knew anything about them anymore, and finding a master in them was near, if not completely, impossible. The trip had been a disappointment, but Integra had kept in touch with the young man that had been so patient through her questioning and prodding. While she was off fighting monsters, he was falling in love and getting married.

She’d been happy for her friend. It was a life she doubted that she would ever have for herself, but she wished him the best. She’d even paid for their honeymoon as a wedding present. But hearing about his life made her question her own. Not necessarily the desire to have a husband or partner, but her eventual need for an heir. Integra was the last of her family line. She could have a child without a man, without a husband. There were plenty of ways. Though if there was one word Integra wouldn’t use to describe herself, it was “maternal.” She wasn’t one to nurture or coddle. And beyond that, she simply didn’t have the time to raise a child.

It was within the next year that an opportunity arose. Integra learned that her friend and his wife were trying to start a family, but they weren’t having any luck. His wife was having issues with fertility, and they couldn’t conceive. It was then that the idea struck Integra. She needed a blood heir, and they wanted a family. It would be a strange arrangement, but all parties would win in the end. Integra gave them a healthy egg to use for in vitro fertilization. In return, they would raise her child as their own, giving them a safe and happy childhood. They agreed to wait until they deemed the time to be right to tell the child.

The pregnancy took and the couple eventually had a baby girl whom they named Kagome.

Integra focused on the little girl in the photograph sitting on her desk. She was about five in the picture, if she recalled correctly. The girl ended up taking almost completely after her father with her black hair and fair skin, but Integra could see herself in the child’s eyes, clear and blue. They were happy eyes, the eyes of a child that knew they were loved.

Kagome had only been around one year old when London had been attacked and Alucard disappeared. And as the years went on and her vampire didn’t return to her, she began to question whether or not she should claim Kagome at all. She was with a family that she knew, a family that cared for and loved her. Integra herself felt affection when she thought of her daughter, but she didn’t think that she could ever match what the Higurashi’s gave her. So as time wore on, she eventually decided to let her role in Kagome’s life remain a secret. Ending her family name was sad, but she would give that up as one of the only small gifts that she could give.

More time passed and her friend died in a car accident. The news had been shocking, but after it sank in, her reaction had been a bitter laugh. Of all the things that could kill a human in this world, he was killed by something as mundane as a car accident. Integra made sure to keep in touch with his widow. They had never been nearly as close, only meeting each other once or twice, but they had a common tie. She was informed of Kagome’s milestones such as learning to ride a bike or entering middle school, but she was mostly in the dark on what kind of person Kagome was growing up to be. That was okay though. She’d decided to give her up and let her live a normal life.

At least, that was the plan before Alucard returned. He’d been back in the Hellsing mansion for about a month, and there was a decidedly different air covering the estate grounds. The younger men of her small army were on edge having only heard tales and rumors of the Hellsing’s pet vampire. Even the older members were twitchy, they were just better at hiding it. Alucard’s presence could be stifling and oppressive when he wished, but Integra almost took a source of comfort in it. It was something that she hadn’t missed or even noticed until it was gone. It could suffocate and frighten, but she’d long ago come to associate it with safety. Integra was Alucard’s master and at her word, he would do everything in his power to keep her from harm.

Yes, having a force such as Alucard at hand was a great and terrible thing. That much power could corrupt. It could turn the best of men mad and hungry for more. And so Integra knew that she needed someone that she could teach and possibly mold to fill her role one day.

_‘Though she would be in her thirties by now,’_ Integra thought with a deep sigh. Perhaps she should have claimed Kagome earlier. Children were able and willing to learn. Adults could be stubborn and set in their ways. There may not be any hope of having a successor that she would deem worthy at this point, but she wouldn’t know until she tried. She had to at least meet Kagome, her daughter and only family, and find out.

With that decided, Integra turned on her computer, a very sleek and modern thing that Seras had insisted on when she mentioned upgrading from her old computer. Seras had actually talked her into making the family mansion quite modern to keep up with the technological age. Integra didn’t care for it much one way or the other, but at least she didn’t hate it.

Scrolling through her list of email contacts, she found the address that she was looking for. She opened a new message and began typing.

_Hello Rena,_

_I believe the time has come._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Hellsing and make no money from these writings.

====================

Like the Dawn

Chapter Two

Supper was finished, the dishes were washed, and Rena Higurashi was finally sitting down to check her email. She didn’t use their family computer often, but she was on a few mailing lists to receive coupons for local stores. She would go grocery shopping in the morning, and she always liked to save what she could here and there. A few coupons had been printed out when an unfamiliar email address caught her eye. She was about to delete it thinking that it was junk when the subject line made her stop.

_About Kagome_

Rena felt a small shiver run down her back. Who would be contacting her about Kagome? And, more importantly, how did they know her daughter’s name?

Clicking on the email, her eyes widened in shock as she read over the message. She leaned closer to the screen to make sure that her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her as she read it again and again.

_Rena,_

_I believe the time has come. Kagome needs to learn about her birthright. I do remember that I contacted you some years ago to say that I was releasing my claim on Kagome, but circumstances have changed. I apologize for that. How you wish to tell Kagome is up to you. If you would prefer that I explain the situation, I won’t object. Upon your reply, I will make all of the travel arrangements and pay for Kagome’s relocation._

_Make no mistake, I cannot convey the depth of my gratitude to you for raising and taking care of Kagome for all of these years. I also regret having to take her away now, but as I said, circumstances have changed. I’m growing older and a possession I had thought to be lost has recently returned to me. I cannot leave this to just anyone._

_I await your prompt reply._

_Best regards,_   
_Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing_

Rena let out a shuddering breath. Integra Hellsing was the last person that she’d ever expected to hear from again. She’d only met the woman in person twice. Once when she’d approached Rena and her late husband about surrogacy and again when she returned to the fertility clinic in Japan to donate her eggs for the procedure. Rena’s husband had always been the one to keep in touch with Integra. The blonde woman had always seemed very intimidating to Rena.

But after her husband passed, the task of keeping Integra informed on Kagome’s life and development fell to her. They only ever communicated through email and even those were rare occurrences. Then one day she’d received an email from Integra stating that she no longer needed an heir and that she wanted Kagome to stay in Japan with the family that she knew and grew up with. Rena didn’t have any complaints. After all, who wants the child that they love taken away to live halfway around the world?

She had been relieved to know that she would be able to keep her daughter with her and give Kagome a normal childhood. Well, as normal as she could manage. None of them saw the incident with the jewel and the well coming. But Kagome had pulled through it. She had saved the world and kept her grades up enough to get into a good school. She had become so strong and independent. But when she came back from their final battle, she was different. She still smiled, though not as brightly. She still laughed, though not as freely. She often daydreamed, and Rena knew that her mind had wandered back to a place five hundred years in the past. Kagome had experienced a different way of life, and she seemed bored with the normal life she lead in the modern era.

That was why, when the well had finally opened up after three years of lying dormant, Rena had let her little girl go. It hurt more than she would ever be able to put into words, but knowing that Kagome would be truly happy made the pain more bearable. 

The Higurashi family had gradually moved on with their lives. They kept a picture of Kagome on a bookshelf, and it wasn’t unusual for any of them to stop and talk to her for a little while. They kept her alive in their home in their own little way. They eventually adjusted to Kagome not being in the house anymore. That was why it had been such a shock when, three years after she’d left them, Kagome was returned to them once more in a flash of light that left her sprawled out and more than a little dazed in the well house.

None of them knew what had happened, not even Kagome. She’d later told them that one moment she was picking herbs with Kaede and the next she was back in the well house. Kagome had cried for several days upon her return and finding out that the well was closed to her once again. Rena had listened to her daughter’s heart wrenching sobs and cursed the gods that seemed to be more cruel to Kagome than other people. She’d been ripped from her friends and the world she loved twice, and she had nothing to show for it but some scars and a broken heart.

But time had passed since then. Kagome had been home for about ten years. She had been living at home on the shrine even as Souta grew up and moved out to attend college. Kagome’s days were filled with shrine duties as a priestess and helping her mother and grandfather in whatever ways she could. Though even when she was living an ordinary life in the modern age she was born into, Kagome’s life was still anything but normal.

It had been subtle, almost unnoticeable for several years, but Kagome, at thirty-one years old, looked exactly the same as she had upon returning from the past when she was only twenty-one. No fine lines, not a single blemish. She was all supple skin and rosy cheeks. They had no explanations for her stand-still. Kagome had a couple of theories, all involving the supernatural, but none of them could be proven one way or the other. And Rena wasn’t sure how much longer she would be able to stay at the shrine where their regular visitors knew her. So far it had been dismissed as graceful ageing, but there was only so long that particular lie would keep working.

Biting her lip, Rena took a deep breath. As much as she didn’t want to let her baby girl go, maybe it was best if Kagome went to meet her biological mother. She could experience a new life, something different from her current monotony. She would be around new people which would buy her at least a few years at least before they would also begin to question her never-changing appearance. And Rena had a feeling deep in her stomach that Kagome might be able to find what she was looking for with Integra. Her late husband had never said outright what it was that Integra’s family did, but at times he had hinted and joked that it had something to do with the paranormal. She, of course, had never believed a word of it and thought that he was being silly. She had laughed off his words. But now, after everything that she had seen with Kagome’s adventures through time, she wondered if he hadn’t been telling her the truth all along.

Rena closed out her email, left her coupons on the printer, and stood from the computer chair before slowly making her way up stairs. Her right knee ached and popped every couple of steps, and she smiled sadly. If there was one thing Integra was right about it was that they were both growing older, both of them in their fifties. The years of going up and down the shrine steps had taken their toll on her knees, and she wasn’t sure how her father-in-law still managed. 

Knocking on Kagome’s bedroom door, Rena waited until she heard Kagome’s call to come in before pushing the door open. She smiled as best she could as she stepped into the room.

“Hey, Mama,” Kagome greeted as she finished putting away the last of her folded laundry. When she finally looked up and saw the look on her mother’s face, she paused. “What’s wrong?”

“Come sit down, Kagome,” Rena spoke gently as she sat on the edge of Kagome’s bed and patted the spot beside her. This wasn’t going to be easy.

Kagome moved to sit beside her mother, but she watched the older woman carefully the entire time. Something was wrong. Her mother was smiling, but her eyes were sad. “What’s going on?”

Rena took a deep breath and let it slowly in preparation for the conversation that they were about to have; a conversation that was probably long overdue. “Kagome,” she started as she reached over to hold both of Kagome’s hands in her own. “I am your mother. I carried you for nine months. I raised you. I watched over you the best that I could as you grew into an amazing young woman. And I love you very much. You know all of that, don’t you?”

“Mama,” Kagome paused to give her mother a serious look. “You’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

“I have something that I need to tell you,” Rena answered as she looked away from Kagome’s blue eyes, Integra’s eyes. “I should have told you this a long time ago, but I didn’t think it would ever matter, and I was never really sure how to say it.” She paused to swallow and steel herself for whatever reaction Kagome might have. Looking Kagome in the eye once more, she continued, “When your father and I decided to start a family, we had trouble conceiving. It was a fertility issue on my part. But your father had a friend, a woman who lives in England, who offered to donate healthy eggs for in vitro. And that’s how we were able to have you.”

Kagome blinked before opening her mouth only to close it again. It took a moment for the information to really sink in, and when she finally spoke she wasn’t really sure where to begin. “So I...you...” Clearing her throat, she tried again. “So my...biological mother is from England?”

“Yes,” Rena said with a sigh. “I’ve only met her a couple of times, but your she and your father were good friends. She lives in London. From what I understand, her family is very old and wealthy with a large estate.”

Nodding along with her mother’s words as the tried to wrap her mind around everything, Kagome asked the question that was at the forefront of her mind. “Why tell me all of this now? I’m already thirty-one. What does any of it matter?” Then another thought struck her and it was a little jarring. “Does she want to meet me? Now? After all this time?”

“That’s actually exactly why I’m telling you this now,” Rena answered. “She just got in touch with me. And please just hear me out before saying anything, okay?” When Kagome nodded, she continued, “When your biological mother, Integra, offered to donate her eggs to us, there was a deal that came with it. She knew that we wanted a family, but she needed an heir to her family name and estate. So we accepted. Your father and I agreed to raise you until we all decided that it was time to tell you this. But then your father passed away and something - I’m not sure what - made Integra decide to let you live the rest of your life here as a Higurashi. But apparently something has changed and she needs an heir. She wants you to go to London so that you can live with her and learn about that part of your family.”

“No,” Kagome said almost immediately after her mother finished speaking. “No, I don’t _want_ to go live in London. I want to stay here with you and Grandpa. She’s gotten by just fine all this time without me. Why can’t she find someone else?”

“She doesn’t have anyone else, Kagome,” Rena explained. “She doesn’t have any other family. Even though you’ve never met, you’re the only family that she has left.”

Kagome shook her head and extracted her hands from her mother’s grip. She lifted her hands in front of her as she spoke, as though they would defend her from what she was being told. “I still don’t want to go.”

Rena smiled sadly as she watched Kagome look at her with a slightly panicked look. While she hated to see that look on Kagome’s face, it warmed her heart a little to know that she didn’t want to leave her home and family. Reaching out, she tucked a stray bit of hair behind Kagome’s ear. “I think you should go,” she said simply.

“Why?” Kagome asked in surprise. Why would her mother, the mother that raised her, want her to leave home to live in a foreign country so far away?

“I’m not clear on all of the details,” Rena began, “but your father always hinted that Integra’s family, the Hellsing family, was involved in the supernatural.” When she saw Kagome’s eyes widen a little, she smiled. “I think going to London and at least meeting Integra would be good for you.”

“You want me to leave?” Kagome asked softly.

“No,” Rena replied almost immediately. Though after further thought, she amended, “And yes. Of course I don’t want my baby to leave and be so far away from me. But at the same time, I want you to be in an environment that would make you happy. You got used to a different kind of life than what I can give you here. I watch you around the shrine every day, and I can tell that you’re bored. You never complain, but you’ve become stagnant and I don’t think it’s healthy. Kagome, you’re the type of person who needs a challenge. You need to be somewhere that will give you variety and new opportunities to learn and grow.” Rena had to pause so that she could blink away a few tears. “I wish I could provide you with that, but I can’t. I firmly believe that Integra can, though.”

“But what about the shrine?” Kagome asked. “What about you and Gramps? What about Souta?”

“We managed to take care of this shrine just fine when you weren’t here,” Rena smiled slightly. “And your grandfather and I will be just fine. The shrine inheritance will fall to Souta and it’ll be up to him what to do from there. He never seemed that interested when he was little, but I think after seeing everything that you went through and understanding the history behind this place better, he’ll probably stay and become a priest. You were always his hero, you know.”

Kagome smiled at the thought of her little brother. Well, not so little anymore. He was already twenty-four and was close to finishing up his college degree. “Do you really think I should go?”

“I do,” Rena nodded.

“What if I don’t like it?”

Rena actually laughed a little at that question. “Kagome, you have always been one of the most stubborn and willful people I’ve ever met, child or adult. If you go to London, meet Integra, hear what she has to say, and you still don’t want to be there, I don’t think there’s a force on this earth that could make you stay someplace that you don’t want to be.”

Kagome smiled at her mother’s words before taking a moment to think about everything that she’d been told. She had a biological mother in England, she was the heir to a wealthy family, and her mother wanted her to go to London to meet this Integra woman.

Even though Kagome had settled into a nice routine at the shrine over the years, her mother wasn’t entirely wrong either. She was bored, so bored at times that she could cry. Her life had become the definition of monotony. And she would be lying if she said that the opportunity, even just the slightest chance, to get involved again with a more supernatural element didn’t light a small flame of excitement in her soul. “And I can always come back if I want?” She asked again just to be sure.

“I doubt Integra would try to keep you there against your will. But even if she did, I’m sure you’d find a way home some way or another,” Rena smiled at her daughter.

Kagome took a deep breath and tried to ignore the slight tremble in her hands. At first she thought that it was from nerves, but that wasn’t quite right. She wasn’t nervous. She was excited. Something deep inside her, something she would never be able to explain if asked about it, told her that this was the right move. This was what she’d been waiting for. There was something in England that was meant just for her. So, looking her mother in the eye, she nodded. “Okay,” she agreed finally. “I’ll go to London.”


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Hellsing and make no money from these writings.

====================

Like the Dawn

Chapter Three

It had taken some time to get everything settled and arranged, but Kagome was finally packed, passport and visa in hand, and stepping onto the plane that would take her to London. The flight would take about twelve and a half hours, give or take, so she was well prepared to kill time. An mp3 player filled with music, a couple of books, and a puzzle book were tucked into her carry-on, but Kagome was pretty sure that she would try to sleep most of the way.

Kagome was nervous but tried not to let her voice shake as she asked for help finding her seat. The flight attendant smiled before checking her ticket and pointing out where she would sit for the next twelve hours. Kagome’s eyes widened and her face flushed a little as she moved towards her seat. Integra had apparently booked her a seat in First Class. Looking around a little, Kagome noticed that most of the other passengers in that section of the plane were businessmen in nice suits, and she felt very underdressed since she’d opted for a pair of comfy jeans, a t-shirt, and a cardigan.

Sinking into her window seat - a single seat, she noticed, so there wouldn’t be anyone sitting beside her - Kagome tried to ignore some of the stares that she was getting. She knew she stuck out as a young and very casually dressed young woman sitting with mostly men and a few women who were all dressed much more smartly than herself. They really didn’t have to make her feel more out of place than she already did.

With a few deep breaths, Kagome turned to look out her window. She watched as men worked to load all of the checked luggage and tried to spot her bags. The pink polkadot bags weren’t hard to spot when they came up, and she was pleased to see that they were handled with care. There were many other people working around the plane and she wondered what all of their jobs were. 

It was Kagome’s first time on a plane, and while she wasn’t necessarily nervous, she didn’t really know what to expect. Her mother had given her some of the basics like keep her electronics off until they were in the air and were told that they could be turned on and that she should expect her ears to pop and trying to yawn would help with that. But otherwise, she was in the dark. She was fiddling with the sleeve hem of her cardigan when a gentle hand touched her shoulder causing her to jump a little.

“I’m sorry,” the flight attendant who had helped her earlier apologized with a kind smile. “You seem a little nervous. Is this your first time flying?”

“Yeah,” Kagome answered with an awkward laugh. She pushed her hair behind her ears in a nervous gesture. “Is it that obvious?”

The attendant shook her head and smiled. “Not really, you can just tell after working in this job for a while. Can I get you anything? Something to drink?”

“Water, please?” Kagome requested.

“Sure, I’ll be right back.” With that the attendant disappeared for a moment before returning with a small bottle of water. “Is there anything else?”

“No, thank you,” Kagome smiled gratefully.

“Well don’t be afraid to flag me down if anything comes up, okay?”

Kagome nodded before quickly glancing at the woman’s name tag on the front of her uniform. _‘Natsumi,’_ she thought trying to commit it to memory. Breaking the seal on her water and taking a small sip, Kagome tried to get a little more comfortable in her plush seat. She pulled out one of her books and flipped to the first page. The book was written in English, and she saw it as a good opportunity to brush up. She was used to speaking English more than reading it. When she’d decided to stay at the shrine after her return, she’d started studying English again. She always got good grades in the subject while she was at school, but she wanted to be fluent for the occasional English-speaking tourist that the shrine would get. And she’d done just that. Though she knew that had an accent and some pronunciations still threw her from time to time, her English was almost perfect.

Eventually, after several announcements and safety and evacuation instructions, the plane was in the air. As soon as they were told that they could turn their electronics back on, Kagome dug out her mp3 player and put on her headphones. Laying her book in her lap, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was no turning back now. She was going to London, and she was going to meet the woman who contributed to half of her DNA. With any luck, she would sleep through most of the flight so that she couldn’t think about how nervous she really was.

\--------------------

Integra checked her watch and saw that Kagome’s plane would be landing soon if it wasn’t already on the ground. For weeks she’d been going around in circles about how to treat Kagome when she arrived. Kagome was an adult, but whenever Integra thought about her, she could only see the little girl in the photo she kept hidden in her desk. Should she be soft or firm in her tone? She didn’t think that she could rightfully call herself Kagome’s mother because she’d had absolutely no hand in rearing her. But at the same time, she couldn’t think of Kagome as an acquaintance or business partner either. They were blood. They were family in a very broad sense.

That was another thing that gave Integra pause. She had family. How long had it been since she could say that?

“You’re distracted,” a deep voice spoke behind her.

Damn. She hadn’t even noticed Alucard there. This ability of omnipresence that he’d gained due to Schrodinger was proving to get on her nerves. He’d been taking full advantage to be anywhere and everywhere that he pleased. And he seemed to relish in unnerving her troops. When confronted about it, he’d told her that they needed to get used to the presence of powerful vampires because there was no telling when one might start causing trouble or attack. She had agreed with him in theory, but she still thought that he popped in on the newer recruits because he was sadistic.

“I’m a very busy woman, and I have many things on my mind,” Integra finally told him. She turned away from watching her men go through their hand-to-hand training and made her way back towards her office.

Alucard followed smoothly as he hummed low in his throat. “But you seem _particularly_ distracted today.”

Integra wanted to sigh but refused to do so in Alucard’s presence. She hadn’t told him about Kagome or that she would be arriving that afternoon. Of course she had intended to tell him that he would have a master after she was gone, but Kagome had still been a baby when Alucard disappeared. And even now, she couldn’t be sure that Kagome would want to stay and claim her inheritance. Rena had informed her of Kagome’s reservations about coming to London, and Integra knew that it would be Kagome’s decision on whether or not to stay. If she forced the issue or demanded that Kagome stay, there would be no telling what she could do after taking over the organization. Spite and anger could be dangerous things. So, while she would do her best to convince Kagome to stay, it would ultimately be up to Kagome.

“I have a guest arriving this afternoon who will be staying with us for a time,” Integra announced.

Alucard actually laughed at that. “You don’t keep guests. Have thirty years changed you that much?”

Reaching her office doors, Integra pushed them open and stepped into the large room. She saw Seras at the desk taking care of some update that her computer had required. Opting to ignore Alucard’s mostly rhetorical question, Integra addressed Seras instead. “Have you already taken care of the computer?”

“Yes, Sir,” Seras replied happily as she stood from the desk chair. “Everything is completely up to date!”

“Good work,” Integra complimented as she took her seat behind her desk. She turned to look at the two vampires that served under her and decided that it was as good a time as any to inform them of their impending guest. “There is something that the two of you should be made aware of,” she began before pointedly making eye contact with Alucard. “It’s about my _guest_ that will be arriving soon.”

“A guest?” Seras questioned in surprise. How had she not heard about this before now?

“Yes,” Integra confirmed with a nod. “She should be arriving within the next couple of hours. This woman will be staying with us while she learns about the Hellsing Organization and what we do.”

“An outsider? Who is she?” Seras asked as she looked between her boss and her master. Alucard’s face was unreadable, but she got the feeling that he didn’t know anymore about this than she did.

Elbows on the arms of her chair, Integra leaned back in her chair and laced her fingers together in front of her. “Depending on her decision, she may very well be my successor as head of the Hellsing family. If I’m to have a successor at all, my daughter is the only choice.”

Seras’s mouth dropped open as she stared at Integra. A few squeaks escape her in failed attempts to speak before she quickly turned to look at Alucard. One hand gestured wildly towards Integra as her shadow arm spiked and flared with her emotions.

Seeing as his underling was apparently struck speechless, Alucard looked at Integra over the rims of his glasses and simply asked, “When?”

“ _When_?” Seras finally squeaked out in an incredulous tone. “What about _how_ and _where_ and _why_?”

Integra closed her eyes and prayed for patience. Seras had become dear to her over the years, but she was still almost like a child in many ways. “As for the when and where, it was during my last trip to Japan before London was attacked. For the how and the why, an old friend and his wife acted as surrogates since I had neither the time nor stability to raise a child. I knew that I would need an heir one day, and they agreed to raise her in a stable home until I claimed her.”

“But...why now?” Seras asked in confusion. “If it was before London, she must be in her thirties by now. Wouldn’t you usually train an heir when they’re younger?”

“Usually, yes. But my chief concern was who would inherit Alucard’s contract when I’m gone. He disappeared when she was just a baby, and I saw no need to pull her from the only family she knew to bring her into this life. Now that Alucard is back, I’m going back to my original plan,” Integra explained. She watched Alucard’s face for any reaction. He could be unpredictable at times, but he enjoyed testing people. His respect was a difficult thing to earn, but it would go a long way in Kagome becoming his new master. Their chemistry during their first meeting would be something of a make-or-break moment.

A slight unease began to bubble up in Integra’s chest when Alucard’s only reaction was a small, fanged smirk. For Kagome’s sake, as well as the future of the Hellsing family and organization, Integra hoped that nerve was more nature than nurture and that Kagome had inherited more than just her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Hellsing and make no money from these writings.

====================

Like the Dawn

Chapter Four

Kagome watched the scenery pass by as brick and buildings gradually faded into grass and trees. Her eyes wandered around the interior of the car with its plush leather seats and wood paneling and finally came to rest on the man who had picked her up at the airport. She’d seen him almost immediately after stepping off the plane and into the terminal, a relatively attractive man in his mid- to late-forties, if she had to guess, holding a sign that read “Higurashi.” He had an easy smile and introduced himself as Arthur. He then helped her find her bags, get through the customs check, and get her things into the car.

“So Arthur…?” Kagome began as a way to get his attention. She was sitting in the back seat while Arthur drove, so while he couldn’t turn and face her, he did turn his head slightly to indicate that he’d heard her.

“Yes, Miss?”

“I thought Integra...Ms. Hellsing...Sir...?” Kagome rattled off, very unsure of what to call her biological mother. With a sigh just continued on with her initial question. “I thought she lived in London?”

Arthur nodded in understanding before he explained, “Sir Integra’s family estate is in the countryside just outside of the city.”

“Oh, okay then,” Kagome said as she leaned back into her seat. It was too quiet in the car for her tastes, so she tried to fill the silence again. “How long have you worked for her?”

“I’ve been in the Hellsing family’s employ since I was eleven years old, Miss,” Arthur answered calmly.

Kagome leaned forward to peek over the back of the front seat so that she could see the side of Arthur’s face. “Really?” She asked in surprise. “Aren’t there, I don’t know, child labor laws against that or something?”

Arthur chuckled a little at her obvious concern. After all, what kind of person would hire an eleven-year-old child? “Perhaps “employ” isn’t the correct term to use,” Arthur amended. “I’m sure you know about the attack on London thirty years ago?” When he heard Kagome hum in affirmation, he continued, “I was eleven at the time. A school friend had invited me along on a holiday with his family, so I wasn’t in the city when the attack happened. Unfortunately, my parents weren’t able to leave the city in time and were among the casualties. When I returned, I had nothing left; no home, no family, nowhere to go. But, for reasons I may never fully know, Sir Integra took me into her home. She clothed me, fed me, and sent me to school, and I trained to be the butler of the house.”

“Oh, I’m...I’m sorry about your family,” she responded unsure of what else there was to say. She also felt a little bad for thinking that he was older than he actually was.

“There’s nothing to apologize for, Miss,” Arthur reassured her. “It all happened a very long time ago, and I enjoy what I do now.”

Deciding to change the subject away from the past, Kagome questioned, “So exactly what does a butler do?”

“I manage the rest of the staff in the house and make sure that things run smoothly and as they should. Though I’m also trained and prepared to take on any other task Sir Integra asks of me,” Arthur explained even if he was a little vague towards the end.

Kagome arched a brow at his last sentence. “Like picking up people from the airport?” She asked with a bit of sarcasm lacing its way into her tone.

“From time to time,” Arthur responded in kind as his smile broadened. “Ah, we’re approaching the house now,” he said as they turned onto the main driveway.

Kagome turned her eyes forward and felt them grow wide. That was _not_ just a house. It was a mansion at the very least. And who in the world would need that many rooms? Perfectly trimmed topiaries lined the driveway and Kagome couldn’t seem to stop openly gawking at the vastness of just the front yard of the estate. She felt the car come to a stop and looked back to Arthur only to see him getting out of the car. Her eyes followed him as he walked around to open her door for her. Taking his offered hand, she slid out of the backseat and tugged at the hem of her cardigan in an effort to smooth out her clothes. She had just covered her mouth in a small yawn when the front door of the house opened.

Two men stepped outside and made their way down the stone steps. Frowning a little in confusion, Kagome watched them make their way towards the trunk of the car and begin unloading her bags. It was a big house and Arthur had stated that he managed the rest of the house staff, so naturally she expected there to be other people working around the estate. What she hadn’t expected were for them to be in uniform. They weren’t wearing nice suits like Arthur. They were in uniforms that more closely resembled the police or possibly even military.

“Ah, thank you, gentlemen,” Arthur said as he turned to look at them. “If you would, take everything to the room that’s been prepared for Ms. Higurashi.” The men nodded and gathered up her bags, but she didn’t miss the way they looked her over as if sizing her up when they walked by.

When Arthur turned to address her again, he saw the look of surprise and confusion that she was giving him. “Our household staff is a bit...different from what you might find at other estates. I’m sure Sir Integra will explain it when you meet with her later this afternoon.”

“Later this afternoon?” She asked to no one in particular. “What time is it now?”

Checking his watch, Arthur answered, “It’s a quarter past three, Miss.”

“You can call me Kagome, you know. I really don’t mind,” she told him with a smile and another small yawn.

Arthur motioned for them to go into the house as he shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, Miss, but it wouldn’t be proper.”

Kagome and Arthur made their way up the mansion’s stone steps and through the large wooden door that had been left open by the men in uniforms. Looking around the large front hall for only a moment, Kagome’s attention was soon captured by Arthur again. “This way,” he motioned before starting up a flight of stairs that ran up the wall to their right.

Following quickly so that she wouldn’t get left behind or lost, Kagome decided to voice a question she’d had since they were outside. “Why am I meeting,” she paused again, unsure of what name to use before just choosing one and continuing, “Ms. Hellsing _later_ this afternoon? I thought...I don’t know, I thought she would want to meet me when I got here?”

“Sir Integra had a small business matter to attend to this afternoon, so I thought that you might like to use this time to freshen up from your trip,” Arthur informed her as he glanced back to where she was walking a couple of paces behind him. When Kagome yawned again, Arthur continued, “A nice bath and some fresh clothes might be just the thing to help you wake up a little, hm?”

“I slept for most of the plane ride,” Kagome frowned a little. “Why am I still so tired?”

Arthur paused in his stride and turned around to face Kagome fully. “Aside from having had a very long day, I’d say it has something to do with Japan being roughly eight hours ahead of Great Britain. That means that it’s nearing midnight in Japan. It would seem that you have jet lag.”

“Great,” Kagome grumbled as she caught up to Arthur. “But a bath does sound really nice.”

“We’re almost to you room,” Arthur smiled as he began walking again. “Either myself or Ms. Victoria will give you a proper tour of the estate at a later time.”

Kagome nodded and continued to follow after the butler who was probably at least a good six inches taller than she was. As they walked in silence, she let her gaze roam around the hall. Windows lined the outer wall and she could see the large expanse of yard behind the mansion. The lighting from intervaled sconces was soft though she was almost positive that they’d been adapted for using light bulbs rather than candles. 

As they turned a corner and started down a hallway that lead away from the natural light provided by the windows, Kagome paused. A chill ran over her as he stomach twisted. There had been a tingle here and there upon entering the mansion, but this hallway was different. She felt like eyes were watching her from all directions and it set her on edge. But there was nothing there. Nothing that she could see, anyway. It was just Arthur walking down an otherwise empty hallway. Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin when Arthur called out to her.

“Ms. Higurashi?” Arthur questioned when he noticed Kagome still standing at the end of the hall. “This is your room,” he gestured towards a door.

Kagome lightly jogged down to where Arthur waited for her and stepped into her new room when he opened the door for her. Big was the first thing that came to mind. A big room with a big bed and a big dresser. The closet was big and the attached bathroom was big. The bedroom walls were a deep maroon while the furniture pieces were all made of a matching darkly stained and polished wood. All of the dark colors were off-set by cream-colored linens and accents. Looking around, she spotted her pink luggage in a small sitting area with a chaise lounge. “ _This_ is my room?”

“Is this room suitable?” Arthur questioned as he watched her take several steps into the room to examine a vanity table.

Running her fingers over the smooth, polished, and spotless wood of the vanity top, Kagome looked around the room again. There were two large windows on either side of the bed, both with a gauzy set of cream curtains that were pulled shut and a set of heavier brown curtains that were tied back. The room was grand and beautiful. It fit the mansion very well. She just wasn’t sure if it fit her. Honestly, it was more space than she knew what to do with. “No,” she finally answered at length. “It’s great. Thanks, Arthur,” Kagome smiled at the older man.

“Would you like for me to get a bath started for you?” Arthur asked from the doorway.

Kagome shook her head as she took a few steps back towards him. “I think I can manage. Thank you, though.”

“Very well, then. The linen closet with fresh towels is over there and there should be soaps, shampoo, and conditioner on the shelves in the bathroom. If you have a particular brand that you prefer, I can add that to the list of supplies needed for the house.” Arthur watched Kagome turn her head to peek into the bathroom from where she stood. “Since you aren’t familiar with the house yet, I would suggest staying in your room until I come to get you later. You wouldn’t want to get lost.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Kagome answered a little absently, still trying to take in all the little details of her room. “It’ll give me time to unpack.”

“Then I’ll leave you to your bath, Miss,” Arthur finished with a slight bow before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. Once in the hall, he paused, listened, and waited until he heard the water turn on in Kagome’s bathroom. With a tired sigh, Arthur called out, “Alucard.”

“Yes?” The tall vampire inquired as he exited the room across the hall, opting to step through the wall rather than use the door. He looked all too pleased with himself in Arthur’s opinion.

“Sir Integra will be angry if you reveal yourself to her guest before she has the chance to speak with her,” Arthur warned, but he knew that he couldn’t really do anything to stop Alucard if he really wanted to do something.

“Don’t worry,” Alucard placated in a smooth yet slightly taunting tone. “I was just testing the waters a little.”

Arthur turned away from the taller man and began walking back down the hall the way he’d come. “At least she seems to have the good sense to be fearful when danger is near,” he commented.

Alucard hummed deep in his throat as he turned back to stare at Kagome’s bedroom door. What Arthur had said wasn’t quite right. The woman had paused, yes, and she’d been wary of entering the hallway where he’d been lurking. But that was it. She was cautious, not fearful. And that one small fact about her intrigued Alucard more than he’d ever expected.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Hellsing and make no money from these writings.

====================

Like the Dawn

Chapter Five

Kagome hummed to herself as she sorted through her luggage and unpacked her clothes. Dresses, sweaters, and blouses were hung carefully in the closet. Jeans, t-shirts, underwear, and socks went in dresser drawers. As she was sorting through her shoes and arranging them in the closet, Kagome set aside a pair of black flats to go with what she’d changed into after her bath.

The bathtub had been large, like everything else in the mansion seemed to be, and it really had been refreshing. It didn’t do much to wake her up though. She wanted nothing more than to lie down and just close her eyes, but she knew she’d be out like a light if she did. So for now she busied herself with getting herself settled. This was to be her room while she was at the Hellsing estate, but it wasn’t _her_ room yet. It would get there though. The little touches were what would make her feel more at home. A picture of her family on top of the dresser. Her favorite books on the nightstand by the bed. The little bit of makeup she used arranged neatly on the vanity. They were little things, but they definitely made a difference.

Walking over to the vanity, Kagome picked up her hairbrush and ran it through her long hair to work out any tangles that might have formed while she’d been moving around the room and working to put things away. She watched her reflection and frowned a little. After setting her brush down, she placed her palms flat on the vanity’s surface and leaned closer to the mirror. She was thirty-one, but she hadn’t aged a day since she was twenty-one. Most women would kill to look young forever, but it was actually very unsettling.

Kagome had watched her friends from middle and high school after she’d returned from “traveling” after graduation. As far as all of them knew, she’d gone traveling with her boyfriend-turned-fiance but had returned home after their romance ended in tragedy that she never wanted to talk about. And so she’d watched her friends fall in love and get married. A few had already started families. 

The changes were subtle, but they all began to mature in appearance. Stresses of family and work caused a few fine lines to begin at the corners of their eyes. The flirty skirts and tops were replaced with more practical wardrobes. And in some ways that she could never quite put her finger on, they just looked _older_. Then there was Kagome. Unchanging Kagome who was just _aging gracefully_. She didn’t seem to fit in with her friends anymore. She tried to look older. She started wearing her hair up more. She changed her wardrobe to try to reflect her age instead of her appearance. It only served to make her look like a young woman trying too hard to look mature. It only made her stand out more.

In the end, she’d gradually pulled away from her friends. She went back to wearing clothes that people expected to see her in. She did what she could to not stand out. If people didn’t pay attention to her, maybe she could stay in one place longer. Now she wondered how long she’d be able to stay in London before people started to question her. Ten years? Maybe twelve if she was lucky? Fifteen was definitely pushing it.

Running a hand through her hair, Kagome sighed. “Why?” She asked for what was probably the millionth time. Why couldn’t she age? Why was she stuck in one place while time seemed to flow around her? It felt like time had created a special little pocket around her so that she could observe the time as it moved and changed things all around her. She just wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be looking for.

Kagome finally stepped back and away from the mirror so that she could check her outfit one more time. She’d debated for quite a while about what to wear. Something casual? Or would professional be better? Should she try to look like herself or try to look like she would fit the role of the Hellsing heiress? Pants or a dress? Blouse or a sweater? In the end she’d opted for the closest to a middle ground that she could find. A simple, cream-colored sweater dress that wasn’t really formal, but it wasn’t really flashy or too casual either. A pair of black leggings, since the house was on the cool side, and her black flats rounded everything out.

Glancing over to the alarm clock on her nightstand and noticed that it was approaching six in the evening. The light filtering through her gauzy curtains had taken on an orange glow, and she knew that it wouldn’t be much longer before it was dark. Kagome looked around her room for anything else she could do to kill time, and she was coming up empty. With nothing else, she picked up on of the books from her nightstand and moved to sit on the chaise lounge in the corner. Kagome was just about to take a seat when shiver shot down her spine.

There it was again; the presence she kept feeling ever since she’d entered the house. There was something that lingered in the air at all times, but every so often a wave of power would hit her and make her stomach twist. There didn’t seem to be a pattern to how often the power hit her. The intervals were seemingly random. If anything, it felt like she was being messed with. Setting her book aside, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

The last several times _whatever_ this was came around, it seemed to make a couple of passes. Waiting patiently and focusing, she felt it. It was coming. Eyes snapping open, Kagome turned quickly to face the window and just barely saw a shadow quickly pass in front of it. She ran to the window and threw the curtains back only to be greeted with nothing but the setting sun. Pressing as close to the glass as she could, Kagome looked to the left and right and even up and down. Her eyes lingered on the ground below her window. She was on the third floor.

A smile slowly tugged at her lips as her heart began to race, but she quickly shut down the thoughts running through her head. Her instincts and powers were screaming at her, insisting that there was _something_ in this house. But her eyes hadn’t been able to confirm that yet. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. How many times had she seen someone with their hair dyed an unusual color and thought that they were a demon at first glance? How often had she thought she felt a tingle of power only to come up empty when she actively searched for it? 

Life was boring. Humans were boring. They were predictable and left her wanting for some excitement. Demons, spirits, everything inhuman, those were the things that made her life interesting. She never knew what would happen, and they kept her on her toes. They made her feel alive.

Lifting her hands to lightly smack her cheeks a few times, Kagome took a deep breath. “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she mumbled. “Mama said these people _might_ have something to do with supernatural things. She didn’t know for sure, though. I shouldn’t get too excited until I talk with Integra...Ms. Hellsing?” Groaning in the back of her throat, Kagome returned to the chaise lounge to sit heavily on the end. “I still have no idea what to call her.”

Kagome had just reached over to pick up her book again when there was a knock at her door. “Miss? It’s Arthur,” she heard the butler call through the door.

Quickly slipping on her flats, Kagome trotted over to the door and opened it with nervous smile. Unable to think of anything else to say, Kagome blurted out, “Is she ready to meet me?”

“Yes,” Arthur nodded with a small smile in an attempt to put Kagome at ease. “If you’ll follow me this way to her study,” he stepped aside to allow Kagome to exit her room, and he pulled the door shut behind her. They walked down the hall together in silence until Arthur glanced down at Kagome and saw that she was twisting her hands together and fidgeting with her fingers. “Are you nervous?”

Kagome looked up to see Arthur watching her. “Is it that obvious?” She asked with a shaky smile as she crossed her arms under her chest in an attempt to keep from messing with her hands. Of course she was nervous. Her mother’s key description of Integra Hellsing had been “intimidating.” And she really had no idea what to expect out of this meeting going into it.

Arthur hummed softly before saying, “May I offer some advice?”

They just started down the stairs to the second floor and Kagome nodded eagerly. “Please,” she said. “I’ll take any advice I can get on this.”

At the bottom of the stairs, Arthur spoke again, “Sir Integra demands respect, and she has the presence to command it in any room. In return, she respects those who are willing to stand their ground.” When he saw Kagome’s eyebrows push together and create a little crease on her forehead, he tried to explain again, “All you need to do is be respectful, but don’t show your fear. Hold your head high and be confident in yourself.”

“And if I can’t?” Kagome questioned.

Arthur laughed a little as he answered, “Fake it.”

“Gee, thanks,” Kagome sighed with a small frown. Of course she could handle the respectful part. That wouldn’t be an issue. It was finding her own confidence that was the problem. And it wasn’t as though she didn’t have confidence in herself, she was just having trouble holding onto it at the moment. She was about to meet the mother she’d never known about; a woman who lived in a gigantic mansion and was, by all accounts, more than a bit scary. If the meeting went well, Kagome would likely stay in London. If things went badly, she would be returning to Japan. _‘Maybe I shouldn’t have unpacked...’_ Kagome thought. _‘No. I can do this. I can do this. I’ve faced scarier things than this.’_

And suddenly, that one thought brought a surprising amount of peace to her heart and mind. She had definitely faced scarier things than one human woman. She’d stared down Sesshoumaru face-to-face more than once. She’d nearly been eaten by countless demons. She’d had her soul stolen, been possesed, and cursed. She had wished one of the most dangerous relics in history out of existence.

Kagome looked up when she realized that she and Arthur had stopped in front of a set of doors. “Are you ready?” He asked her.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Kagome thought, _‘I’ve definitely faced scarier things than this.’_ A small smile made its way onto her face as she nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Arthur nodded before stepping forward and opening the doors. “Ma’am,” he announced as he stepped into the room. “I’ve brought Ms. Kagome Higurashi.”

“Show her in, Arthur,” Kagome heard a voice announce from within the room.

Kagome watched as Arthur turned back to her, stepped aside, and motioned for her to enter the study. Once more deep breath to calm any lingering nerves, and Kagome walked forward with her chin up. Her eyes immediately landed on the woman sitting behind a large desk, and she watched the woman stand as Kagome walked forward.

“Kagome Higurashi,” Integra greeted as the young woman approached her. She almost frowned a little. Kagome was thirty-one. She was absolutely sure of it. But the woman in front of her looked much younger. It wasn’t impossible. Good genes and taking care of oneself could keep someone looking much younger than their actual age, but she really hadn’t been expecting it. When Kagome stopped in front of her desk, she did allow herself to smile warmly. Kagome looked so much like her father. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Integra said as she extended her right hand. “As I’m sure you’re aware by now, I am Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kagome returned as she reached across the desk to shake Integra’s hand. She really wasn’t sure what she had expected, but...it wasn’t the woman standing in front of her. Integra was tall. Very tall for a woman. But beyond that, her skin was a rich brown - Kagome wondered briefly if she was tanned or if it was her natural skin tone - and it was offset by her long white hair and clear blue eyes. Correction, eye. Kagome hadn’t expected the eyepatch.

Integra moved around from behind her desk and motioned off to the side with her hand. “Let’s move to a more comfortable sitting area.” With that, she lead Kagome over to a small area occupied by an oval coffee table and four softly padded chairs.

Kagome smoothed her dress under her as she sat and crossed her legs at her ankles. She sat up straight, trying to be on her best behavior, and folded her hands in her lap. She watched as Integra sat down smoothly, leaned back in her chair, crossed one long leg over the other, and folded her hands across her stomach. Kagome swallowed. She seemed relaxed in her reclined position, but she still held an air of authority about her. Kagome knew what her mother meant now.

“Tea, please, Arthur,” Integra requested with a glance towards the butler she’d known since his childhood. When she saw him nod with a slight bow and retreat from the room, she turned back to look at Kagome. The younger woman’s posture was a little stiff, but her face was relaxed and soft. “How was your flight?” She asked in an effort to get things rolling.

“Long,” Kagome immediately answered with the first thing that came to mind. Her eyes widened a little before she tried to amend, “But it was really comfortable. I appreciate you booking me in First Class, because I’m sure it made a difference.”

“Trust me, it did,” Integra smiled a little. “I’ve made that flight several times, and anything else is utterly miserable.” There was a pause between them before Integra lifted her chin and sighed a little. “I’m sure you have questions for me.”

“A few,” Kagome admitted with a smile and a small, slightly nervous laugh.

“Then please, ask whatever you’d like. Answers are the least that I can give you,” Integra invited.

Kagome’s tongue darted out a little to wet her dry lips as she thought about what question she wanted to ask first. “Why my dad?” The question mostly came out on its own, and Kagome hurried to elaborate a bit. “I mean, you’re beautiful, so I’m sure you could have found a husband to have a family with. So why my dad?”

“Your father and I had been friends for years,” Integra answered simply. “I met him when I went to Japan for the first time as a teenager. We kept in touch over the years. As for why him, he and your mother wanted a family and I needed someone to inherit all of this,” she explained as she waved a hand around the room. “Well, this and a few other things. And as for why I never had a family of my own, I was, and still am, a very busy woman. I didn’t think that I had the time or, to be frank, the motherly instincts to raise a child.”

Kagome nodded slowly as she thought over the answer. _‘She didn’t think that she’d be a good mother,’_ Kagome thought. She wondered for a moment if that was true or not; whether or not Integra would have been a good mother. What would Kagome’s life had been like if she’d been raised by Integra in England? She would never know, but she knew that she was glad that she’d grown up in Japan. But that lead her into her next question. “Why did you want to meet me now, after all this time?”

“That is the question, isn’t it?” Integra sighed to herself. She was about to continue when Arthur returned with their tea. Things were quiet as he set the tray on the coffee table between them and poured two cups. He prepared one cup the way he knew that Integra preferred and handed it to her carefully so as not to spill any. He looked to Kagome to see how she would like hers prepared.

“Um, two sugars, please?” Kagome requested with a tense smile. She and Integra were just getting to the real explanations. But she patiently waited for Arthur to fix her tea for her and hand it off. “Thank you,” Kagome said softly.

Turning to Integra, Arthur asked, “Is there anything else, ma’am?”

“No, that’s all for now,” Integra told him before taking a small sip from the steaming cup in her hand. But before Arthur had left the room again, she asked, “Are they waiting in the hall as I asked?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Arthur confirmed. “They’re simply awaiting your word.”

“Thank you, that will be all for the moment,” she finally dismissed. Getting back to the conversation that had been interrupted, Integra continued, “There was something of mine, a possession of sorts, that disappeared a very long time ago when you were still a baby. The possession that went missing was one of my main reasons for wanting an heir. As time went by and I was unable to find it, I thought it would be best to allow you to live a normal life with the family that you’d always known.”

When Integra paused, Kagome pushed, “So...why _now_ of all times?”

“What I lost came back to me, and I need an heir again,” Integra told her flat out.

“I still don’t understand,” Kagome shook her head as she set her tea aside. “What possession is so important? There has to be more to becoming your heir than that. I mean, you have this estate and some...interesting staff,” she rattled off as she remembered the uniformed men who came to take her bags from the car to her room when she’d arrived. “And,” she hesitated. “My mom mentioned that your family does _something_ , but she didn’t know what.”

“Yes,” Integra drew out the word slowly as she thought about her answer. “If you’re going to be my heir, there are many things about this family that you need to know. Learning this information will likely change the way you view the world. Are you prepared for that?”

Kagome nodded as she leaned forward a little without even thinking about it. Because really, what could Integra tell her that would shock her at this point in her life?

“The Hellsing family has served Crown and Country for generations. We are on a mission from God to protect this country, Her Majesty The Queen, and the Church,” Integra explained in what was likely the broadest description of what the Hellsing Organization did.

“What are you protecting them from?” Kagome asked curiously, knowing that this was the big question, and the answer would likely determine if she stayed or returned home.

Integra made and kept eye contact with Kagome so that she would be able to gauge the younger woman’s reaction as she answered, “The Hellsing Organization’s mission is to rid this earth of non-human creatures, though most of our targets are vampires.”

A strange feeling swept through Kagome in that moment. It was unidentifiable, but it made her chest tighten and her stomach dance with butterflies. It was like an electric chill that shot down her spine and spread through her limbs. For a moment she could neither move nor speak, and she could barely take a breath. As the initial reaction began to fade, Kagome could feel one corner of her mouth start to quirk up. But when she saw how serious Integra’s face was, she tried to suppress it. She largely failed.

Kagome had to bite her lip in an effort to not break out into a huge smile, and she knew that she was truly losing her battle to maintain composure when she felt the first beginnings of a laugh work its way through her chest and up her throat. It came out as a strangled noise, and she had to press a hand to her mouth to smother any others that attempted to escape. Integra frowned a little, and Kagome knew that this wasn’t the appropriate reaction to being told that vampires were real and her family had been hunting them for generations. But a new feeling was filling her from head to toe. It was excitement. She was almost giddy with it.

Vampires were _real_. They weren’t demons or spirits or anything else that she was used to dealing with, but they were something new and unpredictable. They were the remedy for her incredibly boring life. In that moment, realizing that she was finally going to be able to _live_ again, Kagome broke. Laughter escaped her even though she tried to keep it muffled, and tears - mostly of relief - gathered in her eyes. For the first time in a very long time, it felt like she was getting fresh air when she took a breath, and it was amazing.

Integra’s frown deepened. She’d experienced many reactions to people discovering the existence of the supernatural over the years; disbelief, anger, despair, a few half-hearted laughs that eventually gave way to shock. But she’d never seen the reaction that Kagome was having. The woman was nearly doubled over in her seat in an attempt to contain her laughter while she wiped at the tears in her eyes. “Do you not believe me?” Integra questioned. Because she had just the cure for that waiting in the hall.

“No, no,” Kagome waved a hand as she tried to straighten herself in her seat so that she could explain. Her face was still slightly red from attempting to hold in her laughter, but even as that faded, her cheeks remained flushed with her excitement. “I can completely believe that,” she assured. “I’m just...so relieved,” she laughed the last word as she wiped at her eyes again.

Integra had to wonder if Kagome was fully aware of what she’d just heard. “You do understand that this isn’t a joke, correct? Vampires are very real and very dangerous creatures.”

“I’m sure they are,” Kagome nodded as she took a calming breath in an attempt to regain some of the seriousness of the conversation. Honestly, she’d always thought that the legends of things like vampires and werewolves came from creatures like bat and wolf demons. So this was, oddly enough, a pleasant surprise.

Still frowning and believing that Kagome didn’t understand the gravity of what she was trying to convey, Integra called out, “Seras, could you come in here, please?”

When the door to the study opened, Kagome turned in her seat to see a young woman with blonde hair and red eyes walking towards them. She was wearing the women’s version of the Hellsing Organization’s uniform, and Kagome thought that she was very pretty. The only thing that stood out was the writhing mass of black and red that flared out from where her left arm should have been. Kagome’s eyes widened, and it was all she could do not to start start smiling too brightly. She was well aware that she had to look slightly crazy reacting to this news of vampires the way she had. And in the end, maybe she was a little crazy. Someone would have to be at least a little off to want a life of dangerous creatures and fighting over a safe, secure, and normal life.

“Kagome,” Integra began, “this is Seras Victoria. She’s a member of the Hellsing Organization as well as a vampire.”

“Hello,” Seras waved at Kagome with a cheery smile. It was amazing to her that this was Integra’s daughter. There was almost no resemblance between the two women, and Seras wouldn’t have believed it if Kagome didn’t have Integra’s eyes.

Kagome stared at Seras for a moment before she realized that she’d been greeted and answered, “Hello! It’s nice to meet you.” Standing, she introduced herself, “I’m Kagome Higurashi.”

Seras hummed a little as she nodded. “Sir Integra told us about you earlier before you arrived,” she said before turning to look wide-eyed at Integra. “I still can’t believe you have a daughter! And you never told me,” she pouted.

“I already told you that I had my reasons,” Integra brushed off as she watched Kagome and Seras.

Kagome stepped closer to Seras, her eyes flickering over to the mass acting as her left arm. Raising a tentative hand, she asked, “May I?”

Seras laughed, “Sure!” She moved her shadow arm closer to Kagome and watched as the other woman gently reached out and touched it.

It was quite possibly one of the stranger things that Kagome had willingly touched. The shifting shadow was solid enough, but it felt like her hand would go right through if she pushed against it. And it was warm. “Wow,” she breathed. “So you’re really a vampire?”

“Yes, indeed,” Seras nodded. “I’ve been undead for thirty years now.”

Turning back to look at Integra, Kagome finally asked, “So you told me what the Hellsing family does and what inheriting the name will mean, more or less, but what was it that was so important for you to need an heir again?”

“Alucard,” Integra said, both as an answer to Kagome question and a call to the man that served her.

Kagome froze as a familiar sensation washed over her. There was no sound, no indication of movement, but when Kagome turned around she was within about three feet of a very tall man dressed all in red. This was the presence that she’d been feeling all afternoon. She couldn’t see his face very well because of the hat that he word, but when he slid his glasses down his nose, she could easily make out the glow of his red eyes. The force of his presence increased around her and it became harder to breathe.

“Kagome, this is Alucard,” Integra introduced. “He is the Hellsing Organization’s most powerful agent and weapon. He has been bound to this family for more than one hundred years. When I’m gone, he’ll need a new master.”

But Kagome only vaguely registered what Integra was telling her. She was too busy staring down a vampire that was doing his best to intimidate her. And between his size and the pressure he was putting on her, he was doing an excellent job. She refused to look away, however. Incredibly unnerved or not, she knew that this was a challenge and she wasn’t about to back down so easily.

Alucard couldn’t hold back his grin. This woman, so small and fragile, was trying to stand up to him. Completely unarmed, at that. It was almost cute, in a cornered prey sort of way. But when it looked like she wasn’t going to bow out, he decided to take it one step further. Reaching out with one hand, he brushed his fingers over one of Kagome’s shoulders before gently placing his hand around her throat. It wasn’t a tight hold, really he was barely even making skin contact, and as much as he liked to play, he knew that he wasn’t about to hurt her. Integra, though she couldn’t really kill him, would likely find a way to seal and lock him away in the basement again. All he wanted at the moment was to see how far he could push before the little human in front of him panicked and tried to run.

As soon as Alucard’s hand was around Kagome’s throat, several things happened at one time. Integra demanded to know what he thought he was doing. Seras quickly stepped forward to attempt extracting his hand from it’s current location. But what took everyone by surprise was when Kagome gasped in surprise. As tightly as she’d been wound and pressured by Alucard, it only took that little bit of contact between his hand and her throat for Kagome’s body to automatically react with its best defense.

A bright light flashed and forced Alucard back and away from her. It was difficult to tell, as Seras also shrieked when some of the light nearly caught her as well, but Kagome was almost positive that she heard a short, surprised, very masculine shout.

The light faded as quickly as it had appeared, and the room was left with silence and aftermath. Because he was still in front of her, though a good bit farther away, Kagome saw Alucard first. The hand that had been wrapped around her throat was nearly gone, and what was left was badly burned. Turning quickly to look at Seras who she’d heard scream, Kagome was glad to see that the woman only appeared to be a little dazed with no real injuries. Finally, she looked back to where Integra stood in front of the chair she’d previously been sitting in. Her one blue eye wide and mouth slightly parted, Kagome knew that she would now have some explaining to do as well.

Alucard looked down to his charred and partially missing hand. It hurt. It actually _hurt_. A lot. He tried to will the injury away, but it remained as it was. He could feel it healing, just barely see the process at work, but for the first time in a very long time, someone had actually managed to injure him. He should be angry. He should want blood. But the only thing he felt at the moment was a thrill he hadn’t experienced in ages. Finally, after centuries of believing that it was his Holy Grail, there was a human with the power to seriously injure and potentially kill him. This woman, Integra’s daughter, his future master, had just become infinitely more interesting.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Hellsing and make no money from these writings.

====================

Like the Dawn

Chapter Six

“What on earth was that?” Integra breathed. A flash of light appearing seemingly from nowhere had the power to push Alucard back? As her eye scanned over him where he sat on the floor, she took note of his hand. She quickly checked to make sure Seras hadn’t been similarly injured and was relieved to see that she appeared mostly unharmed. She, herself, had only felt a small tingle along her skin before the light faded. How had it caused two vampires so much trouble?

Kagome bit her lip before she opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off before she could explain.

“That,” Alucard began as he smoothly rose to his feet and approached the women again, making sure to keep a little distance between himself and Kagome, “was raw holy power. Power the likes of which I haven’t known to exist for a _very_ long time.”

Glaring a little at the way Alucard was staring at her, Kagome turned to look at Integra. She took a deep breath before starting to explain. “You already know that my dad’s family has run and taken care of a shrine for a long time, so I come from a long line of priests. I just happened to be born with holy purification powers. Apparently, I’m the first there’s been in a long time.”

“No,” Integra cut in as she shook her head. “That’s not correct.” She thought back to the man she once knew and what brought her to meet him for the first time. “Your father had them, too.”

“He did?” Kagome asked genuinely surprised. No one had ever told her.

Integra nodded slowly as her mind raced at the implications. “They weren’t very strong though, and he was untrained in how to use them,” she explained to the younger woman. Staring at Kagome in slight disbelief, she began to realize an unexpected side effect of choosing her old friend to father her heir. Kagome had inherited the type of power that Integra had initially sought all those years ago, the power that she thought had been lost to time. But now there were so many more questions. “Come,” Integra ordered with a wave of her hand. “Sit back down so that we can talk.”

Kagome slowly returned to her seat where she began to fidget a little. She watched as Alucard and Seras moved to stand behind Integra, and she kept her eyes on the former the entire time. He didn’t appear to be too upset about his hand, which was good. From the power he exuded, she knew that this wasn’t someone that she wanted to make angry, even if he did deserve it.

“How long have you known about these powers?” Integra asked as she studied Kagome in a new light. Honestly, she’d been a little worried about Kagome’s ability to handle Alucard. The younger woman seemed so small and soft-hearted that she wasn’t sure that Alucard would respect and obey her.

“I found out about them on my fifteenth birthday,” Kagome answered honestly. Integra had been forthcoming with her about the existence of vampires and the Hellsing Organization’s mission, so she thought that she at least owed the older woman the same courtesy.

“They seem to be much stronger than your father’s,” Integra observed. “Have you had any training in them?” That had been one of the major drawbacks for her father. He’d never been able to learn how to control or expand his abilities. So were Kagome’s powers just naturally that much stronger or had she been able to train in a way that her father hadn’t?

“Yes, some,” Kagome said before feeling the need to follow up her answer. “But a lot of the control was learned over time and through trial and error.”

Integra’s eye widened a little at the new information. “So you can control this power?” As another thought occurred to her, she asked, “Did you purposely defend yourself against Alucard a moment ago?”

“No,” Kagome admitted with a small sigh. “That was an unconscious response to his no-so-subtle threat,” she explained as she once again glared at the tall vampire. With the fanged smirk he wore, he seemed wholly unapologetic.

“Threat?” Integra prompted. He had put his hand to her throat, but he surely knew better than to actually harm the other woman.

Kagome’s jaw tightened for a moment when she felt Alucard start to teasingly pressure her again. She wasn’t going to stand for it this time, though. “Yes,” she answered as she stood from her seat. She spoke to Integra but never took her eyes off of Alucard. “He was pressuring me with his aura...his presence. It was suffocating, and he knew exactly what he was doing.” Not willing to allow him to push against her anymore, Kagome finally pushed back. It wasn’t flashy or incredibly powerful and there weren’t any lights, but a small wave of purification radiated away from her and caused Alucard to recoil slightly. It was a warning that she wasn’t going to play his games.

Seras gasped a little and shivered as the power washed over her as well. “Oh,” she squeaked. “What was _that_?”

“That was a small taste of what someone can do with strong holy blood running through their veins,” Alucard answered in a slightly mocking tone as he stared Kagome down. Just like in the hallway, he didn’t sense any fear from her. She was on edge and cautionary, but she wasn’t afraid. 

Wanting to get back to getting her answers, Integra motioned for Kagome to sit again before she continued, “How were you able to find someone to train you? From what I understood, these sorts of powers were something of a lost art.”

“Ah,” Kagome intoned with a small nod as she thought over how to answer. “Well, it really is kind of a lost art. I’ve never met anyone else in this time period who can do what I do.”

Immediately, Integra thought something was off about Kagome’s response. The wording was strange. Why did she feel the need to clarify this time period? It implied that she’d met people in another time period. But she’d never heard of such a thing. It was science fiction. Fantasy. Wasn’t it? “Why would you say “in this time period?”” Integra asked slowly.

Kagome glanced off to the side as she chewed her bottom lip for a moment. “You know how you said that learning about vampires would probably change the way I see the world? Well, it really didn’t,” she laughed a little sheepishly. “I told you that I first discovered my powers when I turned fifteen, but _how_ I discovered them is slightly more involved.” She knew that she owed Integra the truth, but she was hesitant to just give over all of the secrets that she’d kept for years.

“I’m listening,” Integra told her as she leaned back in her seat once more. This conversation had taken a much different turn from anything she had ever expected.

“On my fifteenth birthday, I was attacked,” Kagome paused before she was able to finish, “by a demon.”

“A demon?” Integra asked a little skeptically. She really had no right to doubt what Kagome was telling her after everything that she’d seen and done in her life, but she’d never once heard about an honest to goodness demon existing.

Nodding, Kagome elaborated, “A centipede demon, to be exact. She was actually called Mistress Centipede.” A small shiver traveled down her spine as she remembered all of those legs and arms and the way she had slithered across the ground. “Really creepy,” she mumbled.

Integra’s first reaction was to turn so that she could look at Alucard. “Were you aware that demons actually existed?”

“Yes and no,” Alucard answered. “I heard rumors through the years, but I never actually came across one myself.”

“And you never saw fit to tell me about this?” Integra snapped a little peevishly. What if a demon or a group of them decided to attack? How was she supposed to know what to do if she didn’t know what she was fighting against?

“You never asked,” Alucard told her in a cheeky tone. “But I haven’t heard anything about them in decades; a couple of centuries even. I thought they might have died out.”

“Um,” Kagome tried to cut into the small conversations between master and servant. “I actually haven’t heard of or felt a demon’s presence in this time, either. I’m not sure what happened to all of them, but they obviously don’t have the numbers that they used to have.”

“There it is again,” Integra pointed out as she turned her attention back to Kagome. “You said “in this time” again. Why?”

“You’ve obviously seen some strange things, so just know that I’m completely serious when I say this and it’s not a joke and I’m not crazy,” Kagome prefaced before she continued. “When Mistress Centipede attacked me, she pulled me through a well on our shrine grounds. The well took me five hundred years into the past where I learned about demons and spirits and souls and my powers and plenty of other things. I traveled back and forth between the past and present for almost a year before the well stopped working. It didn’t work again until after I graduated high school. I went back so that I could live with my friends and the little family we all made, but I was only there for three years before something pulled me back into this time. So...here I am,” she explained shrugging a little at the end of her very abridged story.

“Time travel?” Integra questioned. Taking Kagome at her word for the moment, Integra had a strange feeling grip her. It became harder to breathe and there was an ache in her chest and stomach. Then it occurred to her. She was worried about Kagome’s well-being. How had Rena never told her about something so huge? She may not have raised the girl, but Kagome was still her daughter, damn it. Her child had been traveling through time and had been attacked by a demon. In that moment, Integra was very glad that Kagome was in her home now where she could protect her. As the very maternal response began to ease some, she wondered if perhaps she might have been a good mother after all. Breathing out any lingering nerves, Integra asked, “What were you doing in the past for nearly a year?”

“There was this old, really dangerous relic, and I accidentally broke it. We needed to put it back together again before it fell into the wrong hands. Since I was the one that broke it and I felt responsible, I stayed to help,” Kagome answered. Thinking back to the days with her friends she smiled fondly. “Even though it was scary and there was more than one time that I thought I was going to die, it was probably the best time of my life. I got to travel all across Japan and see some amazing things. I was able to make some really great friends.” Her smile faded a little as she thought to herself, _‘And fall in love.’_

“And were there many demons in the past?” Integra asked curiously. Part of her really couldn’t believe that she’d just asked that question or that she was having this conversation at all.

“Oh yeah,” Kagome laughed a little as she thought back to her journeys. “I don’t know about the rest of the world, but they were all over the place in Japan. All shapes, sizes, colors, and species, too.”

This just kept getting more and more unbelieveable. “There are different species of demons?” She was really getting too old for these kinds of things.

Kagome nodded. “I met plenty of different kinds, and I’m sure I never even came close to meeting all the different kinds.” Thinking back to her travels, she began to tick off on her fingers, “Let’s see, there were dog demons, spider demons, fox demons, thunder demons, wolf demons, bat demons, dragon demons, wind demons, void demons, cat demons, bird demons, and probably a lot more that I’m forgetting right now. Then there were imps, ghosts and spirits, witches, dark priestesses, resurrected mercenaries, and half-demons. There was very rarely a dull day.”

“And you met all of those creatures personally?” Integra questioned. All of this new information was making her head spin a little. Vampires, werewolves, a ghouls were one thing, but she was very quickly discovering that the world and the threats in it were much larger than she had ever known.

“Sort of?” Kagome half-answered. “I met a lot of them, and I made friends with a lot of them. But we fought against most of them and had to kill a good many. So I saw them and there were usually some words exchanged, but we didn’t usually have long talks or anything.”

Integra turned to look at Alucard once more. “And you never knew about any of this?”

“As I said, I only heard tales of them,” Alucard admitted. “If she was traveling five hundred years into the past, I would have only just been approaching my hundredth year. I was still relatively young. And I don’t believe that I ever traveled as far east as Japan.”

Her first concern being the threat that they could pose in the current day, Integra turned to face Kagome again as she asked, “And you said that you haven’t come across any of these creatures in this time?”

“There was a little ghost girl and a possessed mask, but that’s about it. I haven’t felt anything like what I used to feel in the past,” Kagome answered a little sadly. She had always wondered if any of her friends had survived to the present day.

That worry slightly alleviated for the moment, Integra moved to her next pressing concern. “How were you able to fight these demons?”

“Well, there was a group of us, for one,” Kagome explained as her thoughts wandered into the past. “There was me, a monk, a demon exterminator, a half-demon, and a little fox demon. We had other friends that helped us sometimes, but it was just us most of the time. It was traveling with them and fighting demons that taught me how to control my powers.”

“Are you able to do what you did to Alucard at will?” Integra asked. If she was able to do that much damage to Alucard, she would be a valuable asset to the organization and a very promising heir to the Hellsing name.

“Not really. Sorry,” Kagome apologized. “That was more of an automatic response than anything else. I can blast energy from my palms every now and then, but it’s really hard and I haven’t had the chance to perfect it yet.” When she saw Integra frown a little, she hurried to reassure her some, “But I can do other things.” Kagome looked around her immediate area before leaning forward to pick up the spoon lying on her teacup’s saucer. Holding it in her hand, she focused on it until it began to glow a soft pink. “It’s easier to channel my powers into other things for an attack. But my powers can work offensively and defensively.”

Integra thought over everything that Kagome was telling her as she offhandedly said, “I’d like to see that in practice.”

Kagome debated with herself for a moment as she looked over the three people in front of her. After some thought, she finally spoke, “Do you have any archery equipment?”


	7. Chapter 7

Kagome yawned as she watched one of Integra's men set up an archery target, and she suddenly wasn't so sure if she was actually up to this. Sure, she'd slept some on the plane, but she was still exhausted. And a small crowd was gathering to watch. And they were whispering. Most likely about her. And she was still in her dress. It had taken them a while to dig out any stored archery equipment since Integra's forces were more focused on firearms, but once everything was found, things started happening quickly.

' _Okay, deep breaths,'_  she thought. How bad could it really go? It wasn't like she'd completely set aside her archery. Since returning from the past, she'd used a bow a couple of times. A few years ago. But maybe it was like riding a bike? And it wasn't like she had a lot riding on this or anything. Just her pride and possibly her future. Kagome really needed to stop thinking.

As someone handed her a bow and small quiver of arrows, Kagome suddenly realized that yes, maybe she was a little in over her head at the moment. Was it possible to ask to do this later? Maybe when she was more well rested and had the chance to find a bow more familiar to her?

In her hands wasn't a simple wooden longbow like she'd used for years. It was a sleek but complicated-looking compound bow, all black and carbon fiber. It was also lighter than she expected from looking at it. Giving the bowstring a few test draws, Kagome found that she was able to draw it back easily enough, though she'd prefer a bow that was  _hers_  that she'd have time to string and adjust herself. Integra would probably give her the time if she asked for it, but…

Kagome glanced over her shoulder to see Integra, Seras, Alucard, and a small gathering of men who'd been in the training hall when Integra had shown up and called for a bow and target. Integra seemed patient enough, but the others… not so much. The uniformed men were pointing and talking quietly amongst themselves. A few were laughing quietly and shaking their heads. Kagome was well aware of how she looked. Compared to pretty much everyone else in the room, she was very small. She wasn't dressed for training. She'd just arrived and they didn't know anything about her. She'd yet to really prove herself to anyone here or show them what she was capable of. Except maybe Alucard.

Speaking of, the vampire was  _looming_  along the edges of the room. Kagome wasn't sure how he managed to loom in a bright, fully lit room, but he did. It was like shadows simply congregated around him. She couldn't see his face very well, except for maybe the faint glow of his eyes, but she could  _feel_  his smirk. And it felt mocking, like he was still taunting her even with part of his hand still missing. The low chatter of the human men didn't bother her nearly as much as the feeling that Alucard was still looking down on her.  _He_  should've known better at this point.

' _Fine,'_  Kagome thought, narrowing her eyes at the infuriating vampire, Kagome tightened her grip on the bow and moved to face her target.

A few deep breaths in and out and Kagome was pulling her first arrow from the quiver given to her. Looking down, she counted six, including the one in her hand. Six shots to show that she could belong here. Six shots to show that she knew what she was doing. Six shots to wipe that stupid smirk off of Alucard's face.

Nocking her first arrow, Kagome steadied her breathing, drew back, lined up her shot, and released. She cringed when the string caught and drug across the sleeve of her sweater dress, killing the power of the shot and throwing off accuracy. Kagome was a little surprised the arrow hit the target at all, though it was stuck in the very outer edge.

Kagome set aside the bow and set about pushing up her sleeves as far as she could get them. Up past her elbows, she knew that she was stretching them out, but she had bigger things to worry about for the moment.

Drawing her second arrow, Kagome took up a strong footing stance and took another deep breath. Arrow nocked and drawn back, Kagome lined up her shot and released, wincing a bit when the string still grazed her bare forearm. The shot was better, more accurate, though still not anywhere near a bullseye, too low on the target.

Kagome swallowed and tried not to listen to the talk behind her. She just needed to get used to the bow. She'd never used one like this before and it was throwing her off. At least, she  _hoped_  that's what the issue was.

The third arrow was high enough but still pulled to the right. Gaining her confidence back, Kagome nocked her fourth arrow and adjusted her aim. She held her breath as she released and watched the arrow fly. Her breath left her in a relieved sigh when this one finally hit the red circle in the target's center. She smiled to herself, proud of the shot until a low voice spoke somewhere behind her.

"That took long enough."

Whirling around, Kagome's eyes were immediately on Alucard. She could  _see_  the white of his teeth, his fangs, as he grinned at her. As much as she hated it, Kagome was coming to realize that Alucard was one of  _those_  people. People who couldn't have their own fun unless they were getting a rise out of someone.

Feeling her resolve solidify, Kagome turned her back to everyone watching her, but  _especially_  to Alucard. Fine. If he was like  _that_ , she would just have to show him what she was capable of, wouldn't she?

Kagome had been holding back putting any of her power into her shots while she tried to figure out the bow with a few practice shots. But that was finished.

Pulling her fifth arrow, Kagome nocked it as she drew back, closed her eyes and focused. It had been a while, but the swell of power that lived deep inside her, the power that been buzzing under her skin and rushing through her veins untapped for years, came rushing up to meet her like an old friend as soon as she called for it. Everything tingled as it focused into her hands and traveled into her weapons, manifesting as a soft glow. But once she opened her eyes and took her shot, the soft glow exploded into a show of bright lights, leaving a comet's trail of sparks behind it.

When the arrow struck the target, dead center, the target was also engulfed in a light so blinding it almost couldn't be looked at directly.

Kagome turned back around to face her audience. There were varying levels of shock and several people were talking, but Kagome's eyes were fixed and steady on Alucard, her challenge clear.  _I have one more arrow if you dare_.

Alucard's smirk widened for a brief moment and Kagome would almost swear that she heard a deep chuckle echo around her. But before she could place the source of the sound, Alucard was bowing out, fading back into his gathering of shadows and disappearing into the wall behind him.

Kagome was only snapped from her trance of staring at the wall when Integra's hand fell on her shoulder. Starting slightly, Kagome looked up at the taller woman who was smiling down at her. Kagome couldn't quite place the look, but it was a warm smile, maybe a little fond or proud.

"That was spectacular, Kagome," Integra praised as Seras stood close by, gesturing wildly in amazement with both arms. "Your display was beyond any expectation I could have had."

Unsure what to say under the weight of Integra's gaze, Kagome swallowed and nodded. "Thank you," she finally managed. "It's been so long, I was nervous. And this isn't really the type of bow I'm used to using."

"If the bow is your preferred weapon, I'll track down whatever kind you feel you'd be most comfortable using," Integra immediately assured. "However, if you decide to stay, you'll be trained in how to use several types of weapons. You have to able to defend yourself in any situation."

If she decided to stay. The words echoed in Kagome's mind and she realized that it wasn't already a sure thing. She'd been so skeptical and unsure when first coming to the Hellsing estate, but after just a few hours, after hearing of vampires and the Hellsing family's mission, Kagome was all but positive that she'd be staying. She hadn't even noticed her shift in stance as it happened. All she knew now was that she  _needed_  to stay in this house. She needed this in her life.

Kagome opened her mouth to say as much, but before the words would come, a wide yawn took over.

"Oh my," Integra chuckled as she gently squeezed Kagome's shoulder. "I apologize, Kagome. In my eagerness to see what your powers were capable of, I forgot that you've had a very long day with your flight and arrival here." Taking the bow and quiver from Kagome, Integra passed them along to a man standing nearby before she continued, "Go get some rest and take time to think about what you've learned about the organization. We'll speak tomorrow when you're rested."

The air of finality to Integra's words left Kagome's sleep-hazy brain unwilling to put up any sort of argument. Sleep sounded wonderful. Kagome nodded once before Integra patted her shoulder and removed her hand.

"Seras," Integra addressed the remaining vampire. "Escort Kagome back to her room for the evening." She turned to leave the training hall but paused when something else occurred to her. Turning slightly to speak over her shoulder, she said, "And if you see Alucard along the way, tell him that he is to leave Kagome in peace."

Seras gave a snappy salute and Integra was on her way once again. As soon as the Hellsing family head was out of sight, Seras rounded on Kagome with wide eyes. "That was amazing!" She enthused, almost reaching out to touch Kagome before she caught herself. "Ah… is it okay to touch you? Is it dangerous?"

"No, I know you don't mean harm. You'll be fine," Kagome laughed tiredly as she went to tug her sleeves down. It was then that she saw a bruise on her forearm where the bowstring had caught her. But as she watched it, the last of the blues and purples were fading to browns and then greens and then light shades of splotchy yellow. Soon enough, it was completely gone and Kagome finished pulling down her sleeve. There were other things about her body aside from not aging. Things that would need to be brought up with Integra at some point.

Seras continued to talk to her animatedly the entire way back to her room, but Kagome could only partially follow along. As tired as she was, she was having trouble keeping up with Seras's accented English with as fast as she was speaking. Kagome simply smiled and gave a nod when it seemed appropriate.

When they reached her room and Kagome was safely inside, Seras grinned from the hallway, just outside the doorway. "I'm glad you've come," she said. "I think Sir Integra has been worried lately. About the family name, about the organization, about me… about Master."

"About who would inherit?" Kagome guess as she slipped off her shoes.

Seras nodded. "But you're here now," she said. "And from what I've seen so far, I wouldn't mind calling you Master one day too." Kagome was taken aback for a moment, but before she could say anything, Seras was talking again. "Get a good night's rest, Miss Kagome! I'm sure Arthur will have you up bright and early in the morning!" With that she was shutting the solid wooden door and disappeared from Kagome's view.

Kagome scrubbed her hands over her face and sighed. She certainly had a lot to think about.

* * *

Several hours after she'd gone to bed, Kagome woke with a short gasp. She sat up quickly, mind trying to catch up to what had woken up her and put her instincts on high alert. It didn't take long to find the source of her disturbance.

Standing almost exactly in the middle of her room was Alucard, just as creepy and menacing as he'd been earlier.

"It's you," Kagome groaned before flopping back down onto her pillows to stretch. Even with just a few hours of sleep, she felt much better than she had. That is, until she looked over at her alarm clock and saw that it was a little after three in the morning. Sitting back up, irritated, she demanded, "What are you doing in here? Ms. Hellsing said you're supposed to leave me alone."

"No," Alucard argued, tone taunting. "She said I'm to leave you in peace. I came here with nothing but peaceful intentions."

"You are…" Kagome gaped, at a loss for words at his audacity. "You are just… so…" Alucard laughed at her, fangs flashing in the dark, and Kagome felt a jolt go up her spine. Quickly reaching for a book on her nightstand, she held it above her head as it started glowing a soft pink. "If you come over here, I'm throwing this at your head."

"You're welcome to try," Alucard smirked. "Unlike an archery target, I won't sit still for you to hit."

Kagome dropped the book onto the mattress and glared at the vampire who hadn't moved from his spot since she'd woken up. Pressing both of her hands firmly to the bed, she pushed out all of the power she could draw up at the moment. Slowly, the bedding and mattress and even the fame itself began to glow. "Maybe I can't hit you," she said, feeling herself already starting to breathe a little harder. She wasn't used to putting so much of her power into something so large. "But I can sure as hell keep you from coming to me."

Instead of irritated or intimidated, Alucard seemed amused more than anything else. His laughter rang out again as he instead walked over to Kagome's small sitting area and draped himself on the chaise lounge. "You're more interesting than I thought you'd be," he confessed as he removed his wide-brimmed hat and dropped it on the small coffee table nearby.

Kagome could only stare as her powers sputtered out and she had to brace herself from falling over. She felt a little light-headed from using so much power, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Alucard.  _That's_  what he looked like?

In the moonlight filtering in through the gauzy curtains, there was no denying that he was anything but handsome; short black hair that framed his finely angled face where glowing red eyes stood out in the dark. Somehow, the fact that he was attractive just seemed to irritate Kagome all the more.

"What do you want?" Kagome finally asked. "I was trying to get some sleep and I assume you weren't looking for a repeat of earlier." After a short pause, she added with no small amount of sass, "How's your hand, by the way?"

Grinning broadly, Alucard lifted his damaged hand. It was better than when he'd first taken Kagome's attack, but it was still far from fine. "It's on the mend."

"That's a shame."

Again, Alucard laughed. "That," he pointed at her. "The lack of fear is… refreshing." Alucard propped a cheek in his hand as though it were completely normal for them to be having a casual chat in Kagome's dark bedroom in the middle of the night. "I haven't seen the likes of that since your mother."

"My…?" Kagome paused, confused, until she realized who he was talking about. "Ms. Hellsing isn't my mother," she corrected.

"You came from part of her," Alucard said. "For a human, that's close enough."

"No, it's not," Kagome insisted. "My mother is the person who raised me."

Alucard hummed. "Then what is  _Ms. Hellsing_  to you?" He asked, still not quite dropping the mocking tone he seemed so accustomed to using.

"I…" Kagome hesitated in answering. "I don't know. I'm still figuring that out." After a beat of silence, she asked, "What is she to you?" It was something Kagome was curious about. Who was Integra to Alucard, a human woman who was able to control a being with as much power as he held?

"She is my beloved Master," Alucard answered easily. "Much as you'll be if you continue to prove entertaining and worthy."

As much as it irritated her to be considered a source of entertainment for Alucard, she could understand needing to be worthy of someone like him. But the phrasing used made her uneasy. "What do you mean by "Master"?"

"The one who holds my reins," Alucard said with a wave of his hand. "It is at her word that I protect or attack. She calls and I come, she commands and I obey. I've belonged to the Hellsing family for generations, under contract to whoever the family head is at the time."

There. That was the implication that made Kagome uncomfortable. "You…  _belong_  to them?"

Alucard nodded. "My fate was sealed and bound to this family some time ago. And if you stay, I will be bound to you until your death and after that to any spawn you might have."

"I don't want to… own anyone," Kagome said, voice soft as her stomach turned. This wasn't what she thought she was getting into when she'd come to England.

Alucard's smile spread slowly across his face, bright white even in the dark and fanged. Tone devious, he asked, "Then you're in the wrong family, aren't you?"

Kagome swallowed. She had a lot more to consider than she'd originally thought.


End file.
